Bank Robbery: Bankers Tackle Gov Amosun

Ogun State in recent weeks has been in the news for wrong reasons. Almost on a daily basis, attack on the citizens of the state by men of the underworld has become a recurring decimal.

In a bid to find a lasting solution to the crisis, the Ogun State government, recently placed an order for the purchase of Amoured Personnel Carrier ( APC), to strengthen the operations of the police. According to security experts, the armed bandits, whose activities have almost cripple commercial banking transactions in the state due to incessant robbery attack on banks, could only be stopped if the police were well equipped for the task. But the purchase of the APC ran into troubled water when officials of the state government met with members of the bankers’ forum in the state to iron out grey areas on the security challenges they were facing.

The state governor, Chief Ibikunle Amosun, could not attend the meeting personally, but he detailed his finance commissioner, Mrs Kemi Adeosun to stand in for him. The meeting that was supposed to be mainly for bankers and the government team saw the bankers inviting press men to be part of the meeting, unknown to the government team.

While addressing the bankers, the commissioner opened up and alleged that the procurement and delivery of the 10 Armored Personnel Carriers ordered for by the Ogun State government to combat incessant bank robbery in the state had been politicized with the refusal of the president to sign necessary papers.

Adeosun who stood in for Amosun, disclosed that N2.5 billion had been spent on the security sector since the inception of the Amosun’s administration, claiming that the “end user certificate” for the APCs was not signed on time by the president.He, however, stated that the document was eventually signed by Jonathan recently, after series of persuasion.

He added that five APCs, which were the first batch ordered by the state government, would get to the state very soon.

The governor explained that the APCs would have arrived earlier but for certain deficiencies discovered in the ones initially ordered by the government, which subsequently made the state to cancel the order.

He said, “So, we had to cancel the order. We now had to go back to the drawing board. I can tell you that as we speak now, the APCs that we have ordered were brought in by air freight. As I’m speaking to you now, five of them are on the tarmac in Lagos.

“And why the delay? It must have end users certificate, which is only signed by the president. You know we are in the ACN, they are in PDP. Before we could get Mr. President to sign, I can tell you that the president signed last (Sunday) night. And it was at the personal intervention of ministry of finance.

“Now the end user certificate has been signed by the president or authorized by the president; ministry of finance sent text to His Excellency (Amosun) this morning which stated simply,” come and collect your certificate”.?

?What was said within the four walls of a room got into the media and a furious Governor Amosun had to get the state commissioner for information and strategy, Alhaji Yusuf Olaniyonu to issue a statement to deny blaming the president for the delay.

According to Olaniyonu, “The story was a clear misrepresentation of the explanations made by Mrs Adeosun during the meeting. That is why the version of the story published by some national newspapers is completely different from the correct interpretation contained in another newspaper published the same day”.

The government stated that the Ogun State government and its officials have no reason to blame either President Goodluck Jonathan or any official of the federal government for the delay in the delivery of the APCs.?

He added, “Rather, we have all reasons to thank President Jonathan and other senior officials of the presidency for fast-tracking the process to ensure that we get the necessary security clearances and even, duty waivers. We are happy to confirm that President Jonathan and other officials of the federal government facilitated our ability to get all the necessary clearances.

“Apart from the issue of the APCs and other security equipment which we imported, President Jonathan has been of tremendous assistance to the government and the good people of Ogun State. For example, our state is the only state the president has visited three times to commission different projects in the last seven months.

“Also, President Jonathan graciously approved our request for soldiers from the 31 Infantry Brigade, Alamala Barracks in Abeokuta to be deployed as part of our joint police-military task force code-named “Operation Mesa”. Again, When Governor Ibikunle Amosun complained about the poor attention being given to the Lagos-Ibadan and Sagamu – Benin Expressways, the president graciously agree to review the concession agreements and partner with the affected states. There are other instances where President Jonathan’s positive interventions had been very useful to us in Ogun State”.

The statement stated that the state enjoys excellent relationship with the federal government under President Jonathan and value that relationship.??

In spite of the statement, the bankers, under the aegis of Ogun State Bankers Forum met and resolved to close shops across the state following spate of incessant armed robbery attacks on their business witnessed in recent times.

Their resolution was hinged on what they called “unsatisfactory response” from the state governor, Ibikunle Amosun on their demands for improved security in the state.

The bankers also directed that no bank in should render skeletal services to customers henceforth until the forum’s demands on security are fully met, stressing that “there would not be loading of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) in all the banks.

Among the security measures demanded by the bankers are the provision of APCs and deployment of patrol vans and policemen to protect banking institutions. The bankers alleged that Governor Amosun had been “playing politics” with his promises at enhancing security in the state.

Apparently dissatisfied however, the bankers said they are left with no option than to down tool, citing the failure of the military/police joint security patrol to take off as part of the game of deceit from the state government.

Addressing press conference at the headquarters of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abeokuta, Chairman of the Ijebu – Ode Bankers Forum, Mr. Olusegun Olushoga said the decision to close shop was unanimously taken at an emergency meeting of the forum held recently.

He further explained that the forum reviewed the security situation in the state and the failure of the Governor Ibikunle Amosun-led administration to put necessary security measures in place to tackle armed banditry across the state.

Olushoga, who directed that all staff should vacate the premises of the banks however, stressed that any robbery incident on banks arising as a result of culpability of any bank shall be viewed as “connivance and collaboration with the robbers”.

Also, the chairman of Sango – Ota Bankers Forum, Olusegun Akinpelu explained that banks along Sango – Ota, Ifo and Ewekoro axis, which were under his jurisdiction had already closed shops in agreement with the spirit of the strike.

Already, bankers in Sagamu and Remo division of the state have also joined in the indefinite strike called by their colleagues in Ijebuland. The chairman, Sagamu Remo Division of the Bankers Forum, Mr. Tunde Onadeko, who spoke with newsmen, said his members have resolved to stand by their Ijebu counterparts as their demands were not different.